The Craft of Research, Third Edition (Chicago Guides to Writing, Editing, and Publishing) | 
| Authors: Wayne C. Booth, Gregory G. Colomb, Joseph M. Williams
Publisher: University Of Chicago Press
Category: Book
List Price: $17.00
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Avg. Customer Rating:  4 reviews
Sales Rank: 2439
Media: Paperback
Edition: 3
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 336
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 8.4 x 5.4 x 1.1
ISBN: 0226065669
Dewey Decimal Number: 001.42
EAN: 9780226065663
ASIN: 0226065669
Publication Date: April 15, 2008
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Product Description
With more than 200,000 copies in print, The Craft of Research is the unrivaled resource for researchers at every level, from first-year undergraduates to research reporters at corporations and government offices.
Now, seasoned researchers and educators Gregory G. Colomb and Joseph M. Williams present an updated third edition of their classic handbook, whose first and second editions were written in collaboration with the late Wayne C. Booth. The Craft of Research explains how to build an argument that motivates readers to accept a claim; how to anticipate the reservations of readers and to respond to them appropriately; and how to create introductions and conclusions that answer that most demanding question, “So what?”
The third edition includes an expanded discussion of the essential early stages of a research task: planning and drafting a paper. The authors have revised and fully updated their section on electronic research, emphasizing the need to distinguish between trustworthy sources (such as those found in libraries) and less reliable sources found with a quick Web search. A chapter on warrants has also been thoroughly reviewed to make this difficult subject easier for researchers.
Throughout, the authors have preserved the amiable tone, the reliable voice, and the sense of directness that have made this book indispensable for anyone undertaking a research project.
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| Customer Reviews:
 The best guide to research and writing on the market today July 24, 2008
I read this book about a month before I submitted my dissertation (in U.S. history) and it convinced me to completely rewrite my introduction. That experience left me kicking myself for thinking I was too advanced for these sorts of guides and for not consulting this book earlier. The sections on formulating a topic (how to turn a general interest into a question/problem to be researched) and warrants (how to match claims to evidence) are especially helpful. Make no mistake about it, this book can help researchers at all levels, and I have had many students, both undergraduate and graduate, tell me how happy they were that they took my advice to read this book.
Excellent resource July 18, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Although there are many books on writing research or term papers, I have not found anything else which brings together material on planning, reasoning and writing the research paper as well as this book. Ignore any reviewers who make this book out to be a simplistic text. It is an excellent work on well reasoned writing that even most graduate students can benefit greatly from reading. As a professor of a graduate class on Research and Writing, I have recommended and required this book for several years. The book guides the reader from an idea of a topic, to defining a question, to formulating the conceptually signifcant research problem. It briefly covers finding, evaluating and using primary, secondary, and tertiary sources. Then a major portion of the book is devoted to understanding effective reasoning in the writing process. This is based quite a bit on professor Stephen Toulmin's practical approach to effective reasoning and argumentation. The Craft of Research diagrams and explains claims, reasons, evidence and warrants. It has detailed illustrations of warrants and when to use them, as well as how to challenge them. The book has other sections on organizing, drafting,and revising a paper. It also has a chapter on communicating information visually using tables, graphs and charts. Rather than focusing on the simple mechanics or obvious steps in writing a serious research paper, this book concentrates on the more difficult tasks of clearly defining the conceptual problem and addressing it with in depth, effective reasoning.
Great resource for graduate students June 25, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This book provides a wonderful introduction for graduate students embarking on their first research project. I use it every year in my classes. No matter what the field, students will find helpful advice on how to pick a research question and how to evaluate evidence. Invaluable!
 strictly for mouth-breathers May 28, 2008
4 out of 30 found this review helpful
The internet has utterly revolutionized the art of scholarship. Seeking a cicerone through the electronic morass, I lighted on this book, as a colleague assured me it was "a classic in its field."
What I thought this book was, then, was a guide on various websites, the ins and outs of the many publication styles, databases, catalogs, and other information that was previously in-print only but now can be accessed at home. So I assumed this book would have subsections on the different databases and resources available for geology, psychology, French literature, etc. It would discuss and review -- essentially guide you through -- in an over-arching way, the avalanche of resources that have now come online.
This book is nothing like that.
Instead, this book is intended, it seems, to get you in the proper frame of mind for doing research, to get you in the research "spirit." I found the whole thing so obvious and general as to be useless -- even for a first-year college student.
In this volume you can find such helpful suggestions as:
"Look for problems as you read." (p. 69)
"In a research report, your goal is not to stuff your claim down your readers' throats, but to start where they do, with what they know and don't know." (p. 113)
"Once you state your claim, say why it's significant." (p. 236)
"Your report will only be accurate only if you double-check your notes against your sources." (p. 103)
"Avoid using an Internet source unless you know that it is reliable and can persuade your readers to think so too." (p. 84)
"You need a problem to focus your attention on those particular data that will help you solve your problem." (p. 60)
The thing I would like to know is, what moron is out there writing research papers who isn't aware of this stuff? The writing is only a notch above such statements as,
"Libraries usually have many books and journals that can help you."
"The more carefully you read a source, the sharper your understanding will be."
"Capitalize the first letter of every sentence."
"Make sure your name is on the first page."
I mean, how dumb are we gonna get?
(citations are from the Second Edition)
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